Bristol firefighters arrive to battle brush fire, find home ablaze

BRISTOL - Police are investigating the cause of a fire that could have destroyed a downtown home had a neighbor not called for help, authorities said.

Fire and rescue crews were called to 21 Walnut St. at 7:04 p.m. Tuesday, said Fire Chief Steve Yannuzzi, for a report of an outside fire near the two-story, two-unit building.

When firefighters arrived, they found that a brush fire had spread to the back side of the building, Yannuzzi said.

"It had reached the outside, and it was getting into the interior of the back of the home, into a stairway inside, but we made a good stop," he said.

The occupants lived in the front of the building, but were not at home at the time of the fire. No one was injured, and the home sustained fixable damage, the chief said.

The home was returned to the homeowner's care Tuesday morning, said Fire Department Capt. Aaron Heath.

Though the fire spread from brush to the home, and fire conditions are dry this week, fire investigators aren't sure of the cause, said Yannuzzi, who stopped short of terming the fire suspicious in nature.

"We have the police department investigating," he said.

Heath said the dry conditions and high winds are making brush fires more dangerous.

"It changes day to day, but conditions are dry and it has been windy lately," Heath said. "The woods and the grounds are very dry."

Also responding to the fire were fire departments from New Hampton, Alexandria, Danbury, Franklin, Plymouth, and Hebron.